SAN JOSE BARRACUDA (6-8-0-0) vs. COACHELLA VALLEY FIREBIRDS (5-5-3-1)

THURS, NOV. 12, 2026 | 7 PM | ACRISURE ARENA |  PALM DESERT, CA

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SOCAL SWING: The Barracuda (6-8-0-0) conclude their two-game Southern California road trip on Thursday against the Coachella Valley Firebirds (Seattle Kraken) at Acrisure Arena. San Jose is looking to rebound from Wednesday's 4-1 loss in San Diego after winning three of its previous four games.

GROUNDED BY GULLS: Alex Barré-Boulet scored his third goal of the season and Eric Comrie made 30 saves, but the Barracuda fell to the San Diego Gulls, 4-1, on Wednesday at Pechanga Arena. Anton Wahlberg scored twice for San Diego, while Damian Clara stopped 19 of 20 shots. Trailing 2-0 in the third, Barré-Boulet cut the deficit in half at 11:16, but James Hamblin restored the two-goal advantage less than three minutes later before Corey Schueneman added an empty-netter. San Diego outshot San Jose 34-20, including 16-3 in the second period.

BYSTEDT IS BACK: On Tuesday, the Sharks reassigned Filip Bystedt to the Barracuda. The 2022 first-round pick (27th overall) skated in his first five NHL games during his recall, recording no points. In nine games with San Jose this season, the 22-year-old has collected eight points (4g, 4a). Bystedt recorded a three-point effort (2g, 1a) against San Diego on Oct. 4, reaching the 100-point milestone for his AHL career. A year ago, he paced the Barracuda with 60 points.

DESERT DUEL: The Barracuda earned a 5-2 victory over Coachella Valley in their first meeting of the season on Oct. 23, getting goals from five different skaters and 22 saves from Ilya Samsonov. Alex Barré-Boulet collected two assists in the win. The Firebirds won six of eight meetings against San Jose during the 2025-26 season after the Barracuda claimed seven of eight matchups in 2024-25.

ALL GASS: Rookie forward Andre Gasseau leads the Barracuda with six goals through 14 games. The 2021 seventh-round pick (213th overall) of the Boston Bruins scored the lone goal in Saturday's 1-0 shutout victory over Bakersfield. Gasseau has found the back of the net in three of his last eight games, including a two-goal performance against Calgary on Oct. 14.

POLE RAISING: On Nov. 3, the Sharks recalled rookie defenseman Eric Pohlkamp from the Barracuda for the first time in his professional career. He made his NHL debut the following night in Los Angeles. The 22-year-old recorded seven assists in 10 games with the Barracuda, collecting at least one point in seven contests. At the time of his recall, Pohlkamp was tied for second among all AHL rookies in assists and fourth in points among rookie defensemen. A fifth-round pick (132nd overall) by San Jose in 2023, Pohlkamp is coming off a standout season at the University of Denver, where he led all NCAA defensemen in goals (18) and points (39), helped the Pioneers capture the national championship and was named a top-three finalist for the Hobey Baker Award.

SAMY SAVES: Ilya Samsonov turned aside all 23 shots he faced in Saturday's 1-0 victory over Bakersfield, recording his first AHL shutout since April 4, 2019, when he was a rookie with the Hershey Bears. It marked the Barracuda's first shutout victory since Nov. 26, 2025, when San Jose blanked the Calgary Wranglers, 3-0.
LOCKING IT DOWN: Despite Wednesday's 4-1 loss in San Diego, the Barracuda have allowed two goals or fewer in three of their last five games, surrendering 11 goals over that stretch (2.20 per game). The improvement comes after San Jose allowed 41 goals over its first nine games (4.56 per game). Comrie stopped 30 of 33 shots on Wednesday, with San Diego adding an empty-net goal late in the third period.